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iGRF View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more
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Joined: 07 Mar 11
Location: Hythe
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Posts: 6496 		Post Options Post Options   Quote iGRF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Nov 21 at 3:12pm
Originally posted by ohFFsake

, and you won't learn much about sailing faster when you are at the back and trying to catch up, all you tend to do is repeat the same things right or wrong.


Exactly the reason sailing the same class as everyone else is wrong if you are not up to speed, buy something faster, you were never going to win anything anyway so the spreadsheet results won't matter, sailing a faster boat amongst a slower class gives you an insight into the sailing 'style' of the lead boats and now and again if you can't work out why they did something just ask, they can always tell you to p**s off, but genuinely good guys are usually keen to help others so it improves the depth of the fleet, if for no other reason than to put more numbers between them and a close rival.

Ignore them when they tell you to get a proper boat like the one they're using, until you find the confidence to start a race in the first rank and hold your course for the first beat of a given race.

By faster boat I mean something like a Phantom racing against Solos or Lasers or if all you've got are Lasers, chuck up that big rig made by Rooster, the only way to get to the front is by boatspeed which then as we all know makes you a tactical genius, except you won't be, it's just helpful to be aboard a viewing platform of what you should be doing. As long as you come back to earth eventually it'll be well worth the effort.


Edited by iGRF - 22 Nov 21 at 3:13pm
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Do Different View Drop Down
Really should get out more
Really should get out more


Joined: 26 Jan 12
Location: North
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Posts: 1312 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Do Different Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Nov 21 at 4:14pm
"or have someone who can coach helping you."

I am always surprised to find very little, in my own experience anyway, of buddy training / coaching.   
Before I took to sailing I spent years from pre teen to early thirties riding horses and ponies. We generally rode in company and generally watched each other, not so much hacking for simple exercise but when schooling nearly always had a buddy watching to critique what we were doing. 
Fact is you cannot see yourself and more times than not are not doing what you think you are doing. 
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wolfram View Drop Down
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Joined: 30 Jul 21
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Posts: 23 		Post Options Post Options   Quote wolfram Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 21 at 7:53am
Thanks for all the advice! Am currently on page 280 of 'hHigh Performance Sailing' it's quite a mental workout!
Wolfram
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GybeFunny View Drop Down
Far too distracted from work
Far too distracted from work


Joined: 27 Oct 09
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Posts: 403 		Post Options Post Options   Quote GybeFunny Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Nov 21 at 9:19am
Are there any good double handers at your club? Try offering to crew for the best one, you will learn a lot how the good guys sail around your water.
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Paramedic View Drop Down
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Joined: 27 Jan 06
Location: United Kingdom
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Posts: 916 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Paramedic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Nov 21 at 8:22am
Originally posted by GybeFunny

Are there any good double handers at your club? Try offering to crew for the best one, you will learn a lot how the good guys sail around your water.


This is better than sailing a fast boat very badly. In the process of achieving the latter you might spend a lot of time swimming and there is nothing more frustrating when leading a race on handicap in a Solo than being starboarded every other tack by a Phantom who doesn't know where he is going. All good sailors avoid conflict if possible and will do their best to work around you but you'll be putting yourself in a position where you will need a sense of humour and potentially a very thick skin. You'll also be in a fast boat, potentially faster than your ability can cope with and in the part of the fleet with the most traffic - I think this is very poor advice, sorry.
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ohFFsake View Drop Down
Far too distracted from work
Far too distracted from work


Joined: 04 Sep 08
Location: United Kingdom
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Posts: 219 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ohFFsake Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Nov 21 at 9:14am
I completely agree. Quite apart from anything else fast boats are generally harder to sail than slower boats, so you may well find that it takes you longer to get (say) a Phantom around the race course than (say) a Solo.

Also, if the challenge is to sail in the fleet rather than behind it (and we've all been there!) then the first thing you need to master is getting off the start line in reasonable shape. A fast boat does not help you achieve that at all, and again it is easier to improve your starting technique in a slower and more manageable boat.

In summary, as an old guy at our club once observed: "If you are sailing in the wrong direction, the last thing you need is a fast boat!"

(apologies if iGRF's advice was actually intended to be tongue in cheek)
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Mark Aged 42 View Drop Down
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Joined: 24 Aug 11
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Posts: 98 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Mark Aged 42 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Nov 21 at 1:40pm
Have you analysed why you are at the back? Upwind - Are you picking the shifts? Are you hiking hard enough? Downwind - do you pick the right waves to get planing? How efficiently do you round marks? Is your sail trim good on each leg? Do you handle gusts well? This will help focus your future training.
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